Vaccination in liver diseases and liver Transplantation: Recommendations, implications and opportunities in the post-covid era

Maria Pilar Ballester; Rajiv Jalan; Gautam Mehta

doi:10.1016/j.jhepr.2023.100776

Vaccination in liver diseases and liver Transplantation: Recommendations, implications and opportunities in the post-covid era

JHEP Rep. 2023 Apr 26;5(8):100776. doi: 10.1016/j.jhepr.2023.100776. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Maria Pilar Ballester^{1

2}, Rajiv Jalan³, Gautam Mehta^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Digestive Disease Department, Clinic University Hospital of Valencia, Spain.
² Incliva Biomedical Research Institute, Valencia, Spain.
³ Institute for Liver and Digestive Health, University College London, London, UK.
⁴ Roger Williams Institute of Hepatology, Foundation for Liver Research, London, UK.

Abstract

The interest in vaccination efficacy and toxicity has surged following the Covid-19 pandemic. Immune responses to several vaccines have been shown to be suboptimal in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) or post-liver transplant (LT), as a consequence of cirrhosis-associated immune dysfunction (CAID) or post-LT immunosuppression respectively. Accordingly, vaccine-preventable infections may be more common or severe than in the general population. The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly accelerated research and development into vaccination technology and platforms, which will have spillover benefits for liver patients. The aims of this review are: (i) to discuss the impact of vaccine-preventable infections on CLD and post-LT patients, (ii) to appraise current evidence supporting vaccination strategies, and (iii) to provide some insight into recent developments relevant for liver patients.

Keywords: Cirrhosis; Covid-19; Hepatitis; Liver transplant; Vaccination.

Publication types

Review